Study: Patients Prefer Nonphysician to Waiting

Given certain scenarios, consumers surveyed by the Association of American Medical Colleges preferred to see a physician assistant or nurse practitioner over a physician if their visit could be as little as 1 day sooner. The survey report was published in the June issue of Health Affairs and reported by ModernPhysician.com.

When simply asked who they would rather see in a practice with a physician, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner, 50.4% preferred the physician, 29.9% had no preference, and 22.8% preferred a nonphysician. But when 2 scenarios were presented, the responses changed:

Patients could see a physician tomorrow or see a nonphysician today for a worsening cough—59.6% preferred a same-day visit with a nonphysician; 15.1% had no preference or were unsure.

Patients could see a physician in 3 days or see a nonphysician in 1 day for frequent headaches—66.6% preferred the next-day visit with a nonphysician; 11.3% had no preference or were unsure.

The report was based on a survey of 2,053 adults who indicated that they or a physician believed that they needed medical care at least once in the past 12 months.

Comments

so, how does this impact our profession ?
We are another alternative to that wait, aren't we.

Posted by Ryan Kalman -> >ISZEK
on 6/7/2013 9:51 PM

Working in an acute care setting, if the revenue sources would agree, I can see this scenario saving time, money, pain, function and satisfaction for millions of patients. There are a lot of details to be settled, but we could be making a huge difference.